Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Crony Capitalism: A Review Paper

According to international statistics, India is reckoned to be among the most corrupt countries of the world. One of the ways in which corruption can occur at the point of public service delivery is through payment of bribes to access or expedite these services. Other less overt, but equally damaging, form of corruption that has an impact on people is when decisions to allocate public resources are distorted by money, power, access, connections or some combination of the above – also known as crony capitalism. One of the significant contributors to crony capitalism in India is considered to be the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Time and again, questions have been raised about the imperviousness, wooden-headedness, obstructiveness, rigidity, and rule- and procedure- bound attitude of the bureaucracy. Indian bureaucrats are said to be a power center in their own right at both the national and state levels, and are extremely resistant to reform that affects them or the way they go about their duties. Given the significance of bureaucracy (the executive branch of Government) in India’s growth and the pursuit of happiness, the aim of the present position paper is to analyze and discuss the relationship between the Indian Administrative Service and crony capitalism. The paper examines several of the serious problems that the Indian Administrative Services faces and in the end suggests some recommendations to improve it.